In total, 16 of the 64 analyzed children — 25 percent of the sample — had at least one close relative in the analyzed assemblage.

Think about what that percentage means.

In a general population, the probability that any randomly selected individual will have a close relative in a specific group of 64 is determined by the size and structure of the population from which the sample is drawn.

In a population of thousands, finding that one in four of a randomly selected group of 64 individuals shares a close relative with someone else in that same group would be extraordinary.

Even accounting for the smaller, more interconnected population of a city like Chichén Itzá at its peak, the 25 percent close-relative figure suggests that the selection of individuals for this chultún was not random with respect to kinship.